Prediabetes and Dementia
Prediabetes is a
condition in which blood glucose levels are elevated
but not high enough to be identified as
diabetes. More
than 98 million Americans have prediabetes,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), yet the majority are unaware of
it. Prediabetes raises one's chances of
acquiring type 2 diabetes, which is a major risk
factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Furthermore, prediabetes can harm your brain
function and raise your chance of dementia.
Dementia is a broad
term describing a deterioration in cognitive
processes that interferes with daily living, such as
remembering, thinking, and reasoning.
The most frequent cause of dementia, accounting for
60% to 80% of cases, is Alzheimer's disease.
Vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia,
frontotemporal dementia, and mixed dementia are some
of the other causes. Dementia affects around 50
million people globally, with that figure estimated
to climb to 152 million by 2050.
One study has shown that prediabetes is associated
with dementia risk. Researchers indicated that that
there was a significant longitudinal
association between increased levels of HbA1c
"long-term cognitive decline." Another study showed
that "Prediabetes
can also increase the risk of dementia because
it is associated with an increased risk of heart
disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases."
The good news is that by making simple lifestyle
changes, including losing weight, eating a
nutritious diet, exercising frequently, and stopping
smoking, prediabetes
can be corrected or prevented from advancing
to diabetes. These healthy changes may also reduce
the risk of dementia. Hence, it is critical to get
tested for prediabetes and take action to avoid the
negative implications of more harmful conditions
such as diabetes and dementia.
Therefore, physicians and other healthcare
clinicians should make screening for prediabetes an
integral part of periodic patient examinations. Not
only will the examinations help prevent or delay
type 2 diabetes, but the examinations might lower
the risk of dementia.
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